Biden Announces Healthcare Reforms on 'Junk' Plans

Facts

• US Pres. Biden unveiled a set of healthcare reforms aimed at cracking down on so-called "junk" insurance plans aimed at preventing surprise medical bills and reducing interest charges on credit cards used specifically for medical treatment.¹
• The new regulation will roll back a 2018 Trump-era policy that extended the availability of short-term health insurance plans from three months to up to 12 months and could be subsequently renewed. The plans were also renewable and lacked Obamacare benefits such as maternity coverage and coverage of pre-existing conditions.²
• Many Americans opt for short-term plans while in between jobs as a temporary substitute for more robust coverage. While the Trump admin. argued the plans were more affordable for temporary contractors, Biden will cut the duration of the plans down to four months.³
• Biden was expected to speak Friday afternoon about the medical reforms, which the White House released in its fact sheet. The new policies will look to close loopholes that allow companies to "discriminate based on pre-existing conditions and trick customers."⁴
• The "Bidenomics" agenda has focused on protections against hidden fees and the new rules will close a loophole that currently allows hospitals and providers working together to claim a patient is "out-of-network," and thus accruing additional fees.⁵
• The Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) claims that 18.7M older Americans and Medicare recipients will save $400 annually in prescription drug costs in 2025. Biden is also expected to unveil a plan to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and a $35 monthly price on insulin for Medicare Part B patients.¹

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²Reuters, ³USA Today, ⁴NBC, and ⁵CNN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Politico. This reform is undoing the damage to Americans from junk, short-term health insurance programs that don’t provide adequate coverage while springing surprise fees. This policy will help working-class Americans save their hard-earned money, and Biden has a proven track record of fighting against predatory corporations that exploit loopholes to unjustly charge Americans hundreds of dollars in fees. This more robust level of regulation will curb health insurance scamming.
• Narrative B, as provided by Jacobin. This policy from Biden aligns with other establishment shills that have consistently exploited the most vulnerable. The Biden admin. has kicked millions off Medicaid and done nothing to help people get the care they need. Reducing the marketplace of affordable short-term health insurance options is a bad policy in a gig economy.